ZAP THE GAPS! Target Higher Performance and Achieve It! [Unabridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Kenneth H. Blanchard (Author), Dana Robinson (Author), Jim Robinson (Author), Sam Tsoutsouvas (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2002

With the business classics The One-Minute ManagerTM and Raving Fans, bestselling author Ken Blanchard has become a nationally recognized business guru. Now, Blanchard teams up with Dana and Jim Robinson to tackle the crucial issue of human performance in Zap the Gaps!, an entertaining business parable that combines Blanchard's story-telling talents with the Robinsons' pioneer problem-solving approach.

In Zap the Gaps!, Bill Ambers, the director of customer service in a high-tech firm, has a problem: his call center is not making its numbers. With the help of Michael St. Vincent, gardener and legendary head of Saint's Nurseries and Landscaping, he learns to dig to the root of the problem, discovering along the way both the GAPS approach to performance improvement and a tool called the Gap Zapper.

Zap the Gaps! is a must listen for anyone seeking to identify and correct the factors that negatively impact performance-so that the ultimate impact is both meaningful and measurable.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Brief, reality-based business fables are all the rage these days, as consultants, strategists, and other savvy professionals seek interesting, reader-friendly ways to present their latest ideas. Zap the Gaps! continues in this genre by weaving a highly practical and easily adaptable program for improving workplace performance into a solidly informative tale--this time about the trials and tribulations at a large computer firm's troubled customer service center--that most corporate denizens will quickly identify with. Ken "The One-Minute Manager" Blanchard teams here with problem-solving specialists Dana Robinson and Jim Robinson to present the enlightening story of Dyad Technology's discovery and implementation of their anachronism-based GAPS approach for finding and resolving the root causes of many common business problems: (G)o for the Shoulds, (A)nalyze the Is, (P)in Down the Causes, and (S)elect the Right Solutions. By demonstrating how an "actual" company might absorb and initiate their strategy, the authors clearly show how it can aggressively bridge the spaces "between what is and what should be" and realize the true meaning behind their emphatically punctuated title. --Howard Rothman --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“A gem of a management book, guaranteed to help improve your company’s performance no matter what business you’re in!” (Harvey Mackay, author of the New York Times bestseller, Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: HarperAudio (May 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060503483
• ISBN-13: 978-0060503482
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,567,822 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent information in a really lame story. Nothing new, August 13, 2004

By 

J. Blackman (Savannah, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zap the Gaps! Target Higher Performance and Achieve It! (Hardcover)

This is a very quick read. 1-2 hours and you're done. It's a cute little story about 2 people trying to improve quality and performance for their company. The story is about the advice they receive from a friend which is simple and presented well. It's really nothing you can't find in just about every other management book out there. Analyze the problem, look for options and choose the best method to fix it. If you're reading this, chances are you've read other management books. There isn't anything groundbreaking here. But there certainly isn't anything bad about it either. I personally would recommend "The Power of Six Sigma" by Subdir Chowdry over this. But you won't go wrong if you do decide to pick this one up.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from Blanchard, October 28, 2002

By 

Blaine Greenfield "eclectic reader" (Belle Meade, NJ) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zap the Gaps! Target Higher Performance and Achieve It! (Hardcover)

Ken Blanchard certainly knows how to crank out
books . . . his latest, ZAP THE GAPS!, coauthored with
Dana and Jim Robinson, describes an approach and then
gives a framework for improving a company's overall
performance through its people.

It uses the typical Blanchard formula; i.e., a parable
that will help you understand complex material by
presenting it in a very readable and entertaining fashion . . . the result: you'll learn how to better solve a problem and not jump at the first solution that comes your way . . . instead, you'll be given a technique for helping you first understand the problem's root cause--thus making for a better overall solution.

But just don't think you have to work in a business environment
to benefit from the book . . . its message can also be
applied to nonprofit organizations, clubs and even families.

You can most likely it in one sitting, yet you'll
be thinking about it long afterward . . . I especially liked
this one line, used by an executive answering his phone:
"Mike here. What can I do to help make your life perfect?"

The same executive was quoted as giving this other bit
of helpful advice: "So tomorrow start taking your star
employees to lunch. Get them to tell you their secrets,
one-on-one. That won't cost your company very much at all."

Lastly, I enjoyed learning the following acronym: GAPS . . . it
served to summarize the book's key message, which
encourages you to:
Go for the "shoulds."
Analyze the "is."
Pin down the causes.
Select the right solutions.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Easy reader edition of Performance Improvement, October 4, 2002

By 

Kelli Bosman (Newark Valley, NY United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Zap the Gaps! Target Higher Performance and Achieve It! (Hardcover)

Story line is a bit hokey; too much story line, not enough technical information.

Although the three levels of performance level "needs" were identified, I never got the feeling that they were aligned with each other. Book is light on the cause analysis. The highest level: Business Goals is missing entirely. Moreover, the book ended with the "capability needs" not solidly aligning with business needs. They were identified, yes, but not aligned.

Another area of concern is the inappropriate method of prioritizing solutions. Blanchard's story characters went back to the floor to prioritize, should have gone back to the business goal & objectives.